Fate
by Texas Variety Katie-Bug
Summary: "Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine, That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun." -Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps it was fate that brought them together that Monday in July. Fate, and just a touch of luck.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

 _"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night," -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

Perhaps fate was looking down on them on that particular Monday in July. The sky was bright blue and sunny, with just a few, white, fluffy clouds dotting the horizon. Being the middle of the day, only tourists were out and about, and the two of them both knew how to avoid those. It was a day in the low thirties, bordering between pleasantly warm and hot. Perfect summer weather. This day, this innocent Monday, would change both of their lives forever.

Marinette moved out of her parent's home when she started attending college. She loved her parents, and was forever thankful to have their support, but she wanted to stretch her wings. She wanted to see what it was like to strike out on her own. She wanted to make a mess and know that she was the only now who could be depended on to clean it it. She wanted to have friends over and not be concerned with being too loud and keeping her father awake when he had an early morning the next day. She wanted to make mistakes. She wanted to forget to pay an electricity bill and have her power go out for an evening and rely on candle light to design and do homework… Maybe she didn't want the last one, but just the idea of independence sounded great. She knew she had her parent's love and support and she could always go back to them if she got too lonely. They didn't live far. She could stop by their bakery everyday if she chose.

When she found herself becoming increasingly lonely, as her's and Alya's class schedules did not mesh well, she went out and found herself, as cliché as it was, a brown poodle that she named Tikki. By found, it was literally just finding the puppy. Two years ago she was walking with Alya on one of the rare days their schedules worked and Marinette saw a flyer for poodle puppies. She had told Alya that if she had the money to get a puppy, she would. Alya's new internship happened to pay surprisingly well, so a week later Alya showed up at Marinette's door with two puppies in hand, red and brown females, and told Marinette to have her pick. Marinette cried and took the brown one, Tikki, and Alya kept the sister, naming her Trixx.

One of Marinette's favorite parts of the day was taking Tikki out. For an hour or so they would stroll around Paris and Marinette would dream about her ideas, often bringing a sketchbook and sitting on a bench, jotting ideas while Tikki sniffed around, lapped water out of her collapsable bowl, or just sat at Marinette's feet. Other times, on days she wasn't feeling particularly creative, or days she just didn't feel like thinking, she would just get her phone and play Pokemon Go around Paris. Today just happened to be one of those lay, carefree days.

In all honesty she should have been paying more attention, or had a better grip on Tikki's leash, because, one moment, she was sitting calmly at Marinette's feet while the girl dug out her water bottle while sitting on one of the benches. The next moment Tikki was running away, something quite uncharacteristic of the dog, and therefore, extremely surprising. Marinette slung her bag over her shoulder and chased after the dog, who was now in the process of tackling a random stranger and licking him all over the face.

By all definitions it was a perfect day in Paris. Joy was radiating off of the streets as the smiling faces of people made their way by. Adrien watched, looking out the window with a sigh, absently stroking his black cat, Plagg. Adrien wanted nothing more than to leave this place. A prison made of money was still a prison. He was allowed to attend university two days a week, but the rest of his classes were online, as per his father's condition. There was only so far he could get with online classes. He wanted to go out and see the campus everyday. He wanted to be among his peers.

On the days he didn't have class he was required to be somewhere his father could find him at a moment's notice. The days of solely modeling for the Agreste brand were behind him. Now he was being groomed to take over his father's role in the company, or, at least the business side of it. If his father had something come up with a client, or a business partner, or some rich guy from Dubai, then Adrien needed to be accessible. Everything was a learning experience. It didn't matter to his father that he didn't want to take over the business. All that mattered was that mattered was that he was the heir and that he was going to take over one day whether he liked it or not. "Plagg, if I snuck out, would you tell anyone?"

The grumpy cat turned his attention towards Adrien and blinked slowly, before getting up, batting Adrien's hand away with his paw, arching his back and stretching out his front legs before walking off into Adrien's bathroom where he would proceed to jump into the dirty laundry and take a nap. "So my secret is safe with you then?" Adrien called out, knowing full well that there wouldn't be a response. He wouldn't be gone long. Perhaps his absence wouldn't be noticed. Sometimes he went days without hearing from his father. He would just have to pray that today was one of those days.

He had no chance of escaping through the window. The drop was too high and the security system would probably think he was a crazed fan or something with the motion detectors. The only way out would be through the front door, and hope that no one saw him. It would be so much easier if he were a superhero, or something.

He opened the door to his room and saw the The Gorilla wasn't standing vigil there, for once. Awesome. He walked out and closed the door behind him, as softly as he could manage, as the door was comedically heavy. Why was expensive wood always so heavy? Once leaving his room he crept down the stairs and made his way towards the front door, doing his best to stay in the shadows, and by shadows he meant pressing himself against a wall like the hero in a bad spy movie. He managed to make his way to the doors, where he encountered the same problem as earlier. The weight. Just amplified a hundred times. Adrien looked over his shoulder and prayed no one would come just as he was finishing his escapade. Luck seemed to be on his side, for once, as he ran from the house.

"Finally, freedom! For once." He only made it a block and a half before his luck ran out, as he found himself knocked back onto the concrete, his face being assaulted by a slobbery tongue.

"Tikki! Tikki, come back!" After a moment he felt the weight being pulled off of him. He sat up, rubbing the back of his head, more confused than anything. He wasn't going to tell the person off, but he was going to let them know that he wasn't exactly happy with being tackled and assaulted by a fluffy, adorable, teddy bear like monster. That was the plan, at least, but that went out the window in a moment when he looked at the beautiful girl in front of him, wrestling with a pink leash attached to a poodle. "I- I am so sorry. I don't know what has gotten into her. She has never done anything like that before." The girl finally got the dog to calm down before petting the fluffy head.

He had never believed in love at first sight, but at that moment she took his heart. Black pigtails in disarray, her voice breathy, panting after chasing the dog, the tiniest glimmer of sweat forming on her forehead, a few freckles dusting her cheeks, and the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen… she was his, and he didn't even know her name.

"No, it's alright. I should have been looking where I was going."

"Let me make it up to you," she said, reaching into her purse to pull out some bills. "Please, go buy a smoothie, or ice cream, or dessert. Whatever you want. My treat." She held out her hand, the money held outstretched to him. He had an opportunity here.

"Okay, that sounds great. I have one condition though."

The girl seemed desperate to please, almost like the dog that was at her side. "Sure, anything!"

"I want you to accompany me."

She tilted her head and looked at him like he had lost his mind. In all likelihood, he probably had. He was asking a complete stranger out on, what any outsider would see, a date. "I'm sorry, what was that?" She asked.

"Come with me. It's no fun to have dessert by yourself. Some company would be nice," he glanced at Tikki, chuckling, "even if said company decided to play American Football with me." He held out his arm in invitation. "Come with me, M'Lady?"

Reluctantly, she accepted his arm, a faint blush creeping it's way up. "Marinette."

"Well, Marinette. My name is Adrien. It's nice to meet you."

Perhaps fate was looking down on them on that particular Monday in July. Adrien escaped his house and Tikki escaped her lead, allowing the two of them to meet one another. Their paths never would have crossed, otherwise. Fate, and a little bit of luck.

* * *

 _So when I sat down to write this a couple hours ago I was thinking "I'm going to write a Pokemon Go one-shot because, why not?" Yeah, um, that didn't happen, and now here's a new multi-chap fic in the works. I have an idea where this is going, and a few ideas of the journey to get there, but besides that we'll just have to wait and see._

 _If y'all want to read a story I recommend Heart Decisions: Mon Cœur S'ouvre a ta Voix by BrightRaven -chris210racer. He has been working on this project for months and the amount of love he has for the story and the fandom really shows. I am really fortunate to be his Beta on the project since November, I believe, and he has done a ton with it! Go show him your support, please! It's an interesting read that puts an incredibly unique spin on MLB fics._

 _I'll get back to Broken soon, and I'm in the process of plotting a back to school one a day fic, as well as my next Halloween one. This year, if I stick with my current plan, will be way scarier than last fall. Question: When do all of y'all start up school again? I'm sure my college starts up at a different time than a lot of y'all so when is a good time to get that rolling?_

 _With that, let me know what y'all think. I think this will be a fun adventure for all of us._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

 _"Young men's love lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes," -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

The sun was rising high in the sky, the beams of light reflecting off of the crystalline water of the river. Parisian tourists marveled at the beauty of the Seine, and locals calmly walked by, sidestepping around the people in order to get to where they were going. Among these sidesteppers were a pair of perfect strangers, arms looped, walking along the side of the river. The girl, holding a leash in one hand, controlling, a now, suddenly, perfectly behaved poodle, had no idea where they were off to, but she decided to lend the man she was with her trust. She owed him for earlier.

He was handsome, at least, and he didn't seem like a creeper. As a precaution she had her cellphone in easy access in her pocket, easily able to call Alya if the need arose, but, for some reason, she didn't think it would. Tikki was a good judge of character, and she obviously loved the man next to her. "So, Adrien," Marinette started asking, "where are you taking us?"

He gave her a cheeky smile, prompting a bit of heat to rise to her cheeks. What was going on? "Well you said I should get a smoothie, right? That's what I'm planning on."

"We've passed at least four different smoothie places, though." She was confused. If they were going to go for smoothies certainly somewhere closer would be fine.

"Ah, but I'm taking you for the best smoothies in France, or on this side of Paris at the very least. Besides," Adrien lowered his voice and leaned down so his lips were at the same level as Marinette's ear. She could feel his breath tickling her skin, causing goosebumps to form, making her suddenly rigid and bashful, "my father has eyes everywhere. I don't want to get caught out of the house."

This guy, who was he? He lived with his father and was worried about sneaking out? What was he? A teenager? There was no way this beautiful stranger- Adrien- was a teenager. He seemed too mature to be one. He was more mature than most of the other students in her college classes. Did her dog assault a high schooler? Was she on a sort-of smoothie date with someone underage? What was the possibility that she could be put into a sex-offender data base for this? Probably pretty high if his dad was as powerful as he implied.

In this midst of her internal freak-out she didn't watch where she was going, missed a step, and was suddenly plummeting to the ground, dragging the stranger down with her. Just as she was about to his the ground she felt herself get pulled back up by a strong force, and found herself in Adrien's arms. Looking into his emerald eyes her worries from only moments ago began to disappear. He heart rate didn't decrease any, but that was for entirely different reasons. Whose heart wouldn't be racing in the arms of someone this handsome?

"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice filled with genuine concern.

She nodded quickly, finding her mouth was suddenly filled with cotton balls, making it rather difficult to speak. "Y-yeah. Fine just- I mean, just fine." Still, she gently pushed herself away from him, distancing herself. "Adrien, you said your father has eyes everywhere, and you snuck out. You're not in high school, are you?"

Adrien looked confused for a moment before bursting out laughing. "No, not high school." She let out a breath, relieved that she wasn't going to be a person of interest. "I'm actually in junior high."

Marinette felt herself go pale as she looked at the blonde man, no, boy. There was no way that she wasn't going to jail for this. Why was he laughing so hard? "I'm kidding, Marinette. I'm well into college. About to graduate, actually. Don't worry so much!" He extended his arm to her once again. "I can't believe you fell for that, though. I haven't been mistaken for a high school kid in years, much less a junior high student."

"Well, I mean," she looked for anything to say to save herself. What could she say about his appearance that made him seem young without being an insult? "I mean uh- your- your… facial hair! Yeah, facial hair! You just have a little bit of stubble, you know like, you're trying to grow it out!"

With his free hand he rubbed his chin, feeling the facial hair self-consciously. "Oh man, is it that patchy? I thought I was starting to look good!"

She shook her head rapidly from side to side. "N-no! Not at all! It looks really good! Very thick!" There was no way that her face wasn't bright tomato red. "Can we just pretend I'm mute and forget everything that I've said all day? Please?"

"No can do, Bugaboo!" Adrien had a smile plastered on his face.

"Bugaboo?"

"It rhymed with do, so I rolled with it. Anyway, Bugaboo. I'm not going to forget a word you said. I quite like talking with you. You're funny, and pretty sweet."

No way was he saying that. No way was this happening? Her heartbeat, which had finally calmed down for two seconds, was now rapidly picking up. What was this? Was she really falling for this guy? There was no way. They met, like, forty-five minutes ago. If he caught on to her feelings he would think she was a total nut. But why would he call her funny, and sweet? What game was he playing? She looked into his eyes and say nothing but sincerity. She was almost as good a judge of character as Tikki. Why was he complimenting her like this?

She couldn't just walk next to him and say nothing. There would have to be some sort of response. "Well, I like talking to you too. You seem like a great guy."

She thought she could see the tips of his ears turn red, but the thought quickly vanished when he spoke up. "We're here!"

Before them was… not a smoothie place. It was an ice cream cart with a larger man stopping out beautiful desserts for the people in line. "I thought we were getting smoothies?"

Adrien shrugged. "I mean, smoothies are frozen and ice cream is frozen. Ice cream is just a better smoothie!"

Marinette wanted to argue, but seeing the gleeful look on Adrien's face made her hold her tongue. She would give him this. She didn't know why but she wanted to give him a bit of joy. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Andre the Ice-cream Man looked at the two of them when he gave them their ice cream, and he thought to himself that he had never seen two people that were more perfect for one other than these two. They were simply made for each other.

The two took their ice cream to a bench and sat side by side, leaving a bit of distance between themselves, not quite sure how to act around the other yet. "So," Adrien said after a moment, "I really enjoyed myself today. I know this it was probably kind of weird, but-"

"No!" She couldn't hold back the outburst. "I mean, I really enjoyed myself today too."

"I'm glad." He took out his phone and passed it to Marinette. "If you don't mind I'd like your number," he looked down at his shoes as he began to speak again, "and maybe next time we hang out I could take you on an actual date?"

Marinette couldn't believe what she was hearing. Adrien was asking her out? "What?"

"I-it was just an idea! If you don't want to you don't have to. I just had a really great time and thought you did too."

"I- I did. It just surprised me, that's all. I'd love to go out on a proper date with you." She looked at the contact screen pulled up on his phone and quickly entered her number and passed it back to him. Moments later she felt her phone vibrate and saw he had sent her that cat head emoji with the heart eyes. It made her laugh.

Maybe Monday's were now going to be her favorite day of the week.

* * *

 _Wow guys! Ten favorites and follows! Thanks so much! I'm so glad y'all seem to be enjoying it. If you have time please leave a review and tell me your thoughts. It really helps me out._

 _So I finished a basic plot outline in my government class today (I should have been paying more attention but I have an A in there at the moment so c'est la vie) and I think I'm pretty happy with how this will be. It will be short, only eleven chapters, and the chapters honestly probably wont exceed 2000 words since this was a spur of the moment project, but, as of right now, updates should be pretty frequent. I'm hoping daily or every other day, so y'all won't have to ever wait long._

 _Again, let me know y'all's thoughts. I truly appreciate it. And, to my follow Americans, have a very happy Independence Day!_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

 _"My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand, To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss," -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

A month had passed since the day Tikki tackled Adrien, and while the two hadn't been able to see one another every day, between their individual schedules and the proverbial thumb Adrien lived under, the two had at least sent one another hundred of texts daily, or spend hours on the phone. In that month the world had turned upside down. They both felt like they know the other one their entire life.

The Friday after they met was when they had their first "official" date, since the ice cream incident didn't count according to Adrien. He took Marinette to some nice, but casual Italian Cafe, where the two ate some of the best pasta they had ever had, though, in retrospect, the taste was probably exaggerated by the company that they were with. Good food seemed to taste better when they were in the company of each other.

The two of them then went on a walk around Paris, letting their dinner digest, before Adrien suggested finding a bakery to get some dessert. He supposedly knew the best one in Paris, and leading her there she ended up in front of her childhood home. "This bakery has the best macarons I've ever tasted," Adrien said. "They have this strawberry chocolate one that looks like a ladybug, and it tastes amazing."

Marinette couldn't keep the blush from coming over her face. "Yeah, I know. My parents actually own this bakery."

Adrien was surprised, to say the least. This girl was the daughter of the best baker in Paris? A part of him contemplated marrying her on the spot so he could have free access to the desserts inside. "That's amazing!"

"The ladybug macaron was actually made for me. My dad called me his lucky little ladybug growing up, so he made a macaron for me. He sold it for the first time on my sixteenth birthday to celebrate, and it hasn't left the store since. It's one of our most popular desserts."

His draw was threatening to fall off his face and hit the ground. What kind of miracle was it that he ran into her and was on a date with her. As much as he wanted the dessert he decided that it wasn't worth it. He didn't want to make Marinette uncomfortable by going in and meeting her parents on their first date. It would be incredibly awkward, to say the least. There were plenty of other bakeries in Paris. They could find dessert somewhere else.

Adrien took Marinette's hand and lead her away. "I can get macarons some other time. We don't have to go in and have your parents see you on a date." He could tell from the bashful smile on her face that he made the right call. A few minutes later they came across a cafe that advertised creme brûlée and they decided that would be just fine.

Since then they hadn't had another date, though they had seen one another, Marinette coming to the college when he had classes and surprising him with lunch, which always included a different macaron. Adrien would sneak out of the house more often and find his way to Marinette's apartment, where eh would greet Tikki with a couple of pats on the head. (He was a self proclaimed cat-person but would always be appreciative towards the dog who brought them together.) At her apartment they would play video games (where Marinette would, more often than not, beat him) or just watch a movie together until he got the phone call from someone saying that he had been caught sneaking out and needed to come home.

When he would return home he never told anyone that he was seeing Marinette, not that he didn't want to shout it from the rooftops or anything, but he was afraid admitting to his father that he was interested in a girl would get him into trouble. His father would probably think was a bad influence and would forbid him from seeing her again. Adrien refused to let that happen, so for now Marinette remained his beautiful little secret.

Today happened to be one of the days that he was going to visit his secret. He had bought a variety of snacks at a grocery store, going to the international aisle and buying a variety of junky snacks that would make his father cringe, like American chips and Japanese candy. Today the two of them planned on watching a movie. The two of them were making their way through the Studio Ghibli collection by watching them in order of release. They weren't very far, having only completed four movies, but at least they only had one movie left to go in the eighties, _Kiki's Delivery Service._

He was excited to see her. Watching movies with Marinette was fun. She would intently watch the screen and let every emotion she was feeling show on her face. When she was excited she would lean forward and rest her elbows on her knees, giving the screen every bit of attention that she could. When she was sad she would attempt to smile and shyly take his hand in her own. When something funny came on her laugh would reverberate throughout the apartment, innocent and almost child-like. He had seen the movie they were watching before. It was one of his favorite's as a child. He wanted to see Marinette's reaction to the film. She had never seen a Studio Ghibli movie before he introduced her, but he could easily tell that she was captivated beyond belief.

He reached her building and made her way to her abode, knocking on the door when he arrived, to see her standing in the entry, looking akin to a goddess, with her hair in pigtails, stray baby hair's flying every which way. She wore a pair of casual pajama shorts and a long-sleeve t-shirt that swallowed her entire frame. Her face was slightly flush from the heat coming from the apartment, probably because she offered to cook them dinner. (He had tried to cook with her once but he didn't realize that metal couldn't go in the microwave so he was forever banned from the kitchen.) "Hey!" She greeted him breathlessly, attempting to look casual, but failing. He realized in that moment she rushed to the door to answer. She was looking forward to seeing him as much as he was looking forward to seeing her.

He walked in and let the aroma of spices overtake him. "What's cookin' good lookin'"

Marinette rolled her eyes but he didn't miss the smirk. She had enjoyed his joke, even if she refused to acknowledge that she did. It was a small victory for him. "I'm just making some spaghetti. It's almost ready. I just need to plate it. If you want you can get the movie all set up!"

"Sounds good!" He would do as he was told. He took the movie and placed in in the disc player, waiting for it to start up and get to the title screen. He had to go to the setting option, seeing as this particular copy of the movie defaulted to playing in English. He selected the option for French and pressed play, pausing it immediately and waiting for Marinette to join him.

She did so only moments later, setting down a plate of spaghetti and garlic bread. Homemade garlic bread. Everything smelled so good. He would have to step up his game. His junk food was nothing compared to this. He wanted to kiss her. He looked at Marinette, watching as she pushed a stray strand that escaped its elastic hold and wondered why he didn't. There was nothing holding him back.

"Hey Mari?"

She gave him her full attention. "Yes?"

"Thanks for dinner." He quickly gave her a quick peck on the lips and pressed play on the movie, watching her turn as red as the pasta sauce out of the corner of his eye. A perfect day and a perfect first kiss. He took his cellphone out of his pocket and placed it on do not disturb. He wasn't going to let anyone ruin this day with Marinette.

Adrien noticed that Marinette was stiff while she ate, and jumped every time his knee brushed hers. Had he overstepped her boundaries? He had never intended to make her feel uncomfortable. Perhaps he should apologize after the movie. When she finished eating, though, it was like nothing had changed. She took her hand in his when excited, buried her head in his shoulder when she was scared, and just let herself get swept away by the movie. When it was over she smiled and looked back at him. "What did you think?" He asked.

She looked up at him, bright, looking like a million angles, and pecked him on the lips. "I liked it," she said. Adrien was on cloud nine. This was the best day ever.

* * *

 _Thanks for the response guys! I'm really glad y'all enjoy this. Sorry it took a bit longer to get this out. I would have gotten it out yesterday but I was driving to the lake. My best friend and I have just spent the past three hours relaxing in our room at the lake house so I decided now was as good a time as any to get this written. I promised this would be updated frequently, didn't I?_

 _Let me know what y'all think! This story is pretty fun to write so I hope it's as fun to read._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

 _"You are a lover. Borrow Cupid's wings and soar with them above a common bound," -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

He was fed up with it all. Adrien had been dating Marinette six months and, seemingly out of nowhere, his father was telling him he had to break-up with the girl.

His secret relationship with the raven-haired beauty had been discovered two months ago, when they were celebrating their four month anniversary. He had told his father two weeks in advance that he had made plans and to not schedule anything that would require his attendance on that date. True to form his father completely ignored him and scheduled something on that day. It seemed to Adrien that his father was doing this just to spite him. His father had even arranged a bit of extra security just to make sure Adrien didn't sneak out on that date.

There was one thing Adrien would admit he inherited from his father, and that was his father's stubbornness. On the outside it wasn't as apparent. Since Adrien was more mild mannered and personable than his father no one realized that if he wanted something then nothing would stop that. Being the romantic that he was that normally meant pursuing his romantic affair with Marinette. Nothing would stop him from being with her. Not his social standing. Not his affiliation with the Agreste business. Not his preference of cats to dogs (though he admitted he was rather fond of Tikki). And most certainly not his father. But he had inherited his stubbornness from his father. That's why the business was so successful, and why Adrien had learned to have backup escape routes from an incredibly young age, no matter how unseemly they were.

On their four month anniversary Adrien escaped the house through the trash chute. It was disgusting and he brought a backpack with a change of clothes so he didn't smell like rotten rich-people garbage when he arrived for his date with Marinette. He changed in the alley a black away from the mansion and risked a ticket in public nudity changing behind a random building. It would all be worth it though.

He practically ran to Marinette's place once he was changed. (He abandoned the backpack with the clothes in the alley, making a note to pick it up later after the date.) He stopped by a cart and bought a bouquet of pink gerbera daisies to give to her when he knocked on the door. He secretly hoped the meaning of the flower wasn't anything too forward or too casual, as he had forgotten to look up the meaning of the flowers before he bought them, like he usually did. He was in a hurry. Their reservations were creeping up.

Upon reaching the door of her apartment he knocked rapidly, only to feel a tap on his shoulder a moment later. He could feel the color drain from his face as he turned around and saw someone standing there. He had expected it to be his bodyguard, or his father's assistant, or possibly one of the hired security guards. He had not expected to see his father standing there, in the middle of a middle-class apartment building, arms crossed around his chest, face looking stern. "I thought I told you to remain home today."

Adrien sighed and looked his father directly in the eyes. He didn't want to disobey his father, but he wasn't going to give into his demands any longer. He had to stand up for himself. "I thought I told you I had plans."

At that moment Marinette chose to open the door. Her face, bright and cheerful, with a bright smile, suddenly became confused, a bit concerned as she looked at the two men standing in front of her. "Adrien? What's going on?" She asked.

Adrien sighed before mustering up the best smile he could fake. "Marinette, sorry for the lack of notice, but I didn't realize my father had followed me here. Marinette, this is my father, Gabriel Agreste. Father, this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he paused, "my girlfriend."

He saw his father tense up fro a moment before taking Marinette's hand in his and placing a kiss on the back of it. "Well, it is nice to meet you, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I apologize for not telling you I was coming, but Adrien had not told me where he was going." He turned his attention to his son. "I assume this is why you've been sneaking around these past few months?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright. We'll talk about this when you get home." He turned his attention to Marinette once more. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

She nodded. "You too, Mr. Agreste."

It was an eventful anniversary to say the least. After their date, when Adrien returned home, backpack slung over his shoulder, he expected to receive an earful, but nothing was said. His father just acted like the whole event had never happened.

Now at six months it was all changing. "You're going to break-up with Miss Dupain-Cheng."

His father had called him into his office for a meeting. The moment Adrien sat down those were the words out of his father's mouth. No "how are you doing?" or "nice weather." It was quick and straight to the point.

"What?" Adrien would have been angry if he wasn't so shocked. Two months of not saying anything about Marinette and now his father was demanding he end his relationship? That was out of the question. "No! You can't just ask me to do that!"

His father was reading some documents. He hadn't looked up at Adrien once since he entered the room. "I'm not asking. I'm ordering you to."

"I refuse!" Adrien had never understood the expression seeing red, but he understood it now. "Why?"

"I have arranged an engagement for you," Gabriel slid the documents over to Adrien so he could look them over. "Chloe Bourgeois is the daughter of the Mayor of Paris, a _very_ influential politician. He is practically guaranteed a spot in the French Parliament in the upcoming elections. Having the two of you be married would be beneficial to both our family and theirs."

"No!"

"Again, Adrien, I'm not asking you. I'm ordering you. You are going to break up with Miss Dupain-Cheng and marry Miss Bourgeois in a month. We have already planned the wedding. It requires practically nothing on your part. You just have to show up to the alter and say 'I do.'"

"Nothing but a lifetime commitment." Adrien stood up from the chair in the office and made his way to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere but here!" Adrien stormed out, went over to his room, threw some necessities into a suitcase, grabbed Plagg and placed him in a cat carrier, and went to a filing cabinet in his room where he grabbed a series of files.

That night Marinette heard a knock on her door. She was confused. She didn't expect anybody to come over today, but when she opened the door her face brightened. Adrien was standing there. She threw her arms around his neck, then saw the suitcase and the cat carrier. "Is everything okay?" She asked.

He shrugged in response. "Not really. Can I come in?"

She opened the door wide for him and let him bring settle in. "So," she began once he was settled and Plagg made himself home on the end of the couch, "what happened?" She took at seat next to him, forcing Plagg to relocate to a different spot, which happened to be Tikki's dog bed, where the black cat snuggled up next to the poodle with only slight hesitation.

"My father had arranged a marriage for me."

Marinette couldn't believe what she was hearing. Arranged marriages were still a thing in modern society? What about their relationship? "What?"

"Yeah. Some girl named Chloe Bourgeois she's the daughter of the mayor and my dad thought marrying her would be a great idea, or something." Adrien rested his head on Marinette's shoulder. "He wanted me to break up with you, and I couldn't do that. I love you."

Marinette felt her heartbeat rapidly increase. She had known she loved him for a while, and she had known he felt the same, but neither of them had voiced it out loud. "What was that?"

Adrien seemed to not have realized what he had said until Marinette raised the question. Then the tips of his ears began to turn pink. That didn't deter him, though. He took his head off of her shoulders and took her hands in his. "I love you, Marinette. That's why I can't marry Chloe and that's why I left my home."

She couldn't resist. She placed a kiss on his lips that grew deeper and deeper, both of them pouring out their emotions to one another. When they separated the two were breathing heavily, looking at each other with hooded eyes and swollen lips. "I love you too," Marinette said, and the two fell into the other's arms for the night.

* * *

 _I'm kind of surprised with where this story is going, but I'm not complaining. There is a complete chapter layout for this story so I know exactly where it's going, but it is the least detailed chapter layout I've ever created. Literally it looks like "Chap One- meeting, Chap Two- date, Chap Three- first kiss, Chap Four- I love you's, etc.," so there is a destination but the journey there is a mystery for all of us. I hope y'all are liking this story. The reviews I've gotten for this are very supportive, so I'm glad y'all seem to be enjoying it. Just a small little mini-project between holidays and events. Maybe I'll get a one-shot out or something._

 _The last day of this summer session for my college is this Wednesday, but then I have my first day on Thursday of session two, but I'm taking a class with the same teacher, so I doubt updates will be affected. I'm also back home from the lake so maybe I can get back to daily instead of semi-daily. We'll see. It will continue to be frequent updates at the very least._

 _Let me know when y'all's back to school dates are so I can begin to figure out the dates for that countdown, and let me know what y'all think of the story. I want to know what I can do to make this a better reading experience for you all!_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

 _"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow," -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

The two of them held one another close, peppering kisses on the other's face, neither of them wanting to let go of the other. "Are you sure you can't stay?" Adrien asked, holding securely onto Marinette's waist.

People around them gave them sidelong looks, some enamored by the young couple, others jealous of the relationship the two seemed to possess, and many turned off by the affection displayed between the two of them. They hardly cared, though. Goodbyes were tough, even without the watchful eye of the public. "You can get fashion internships here can't you?"

"Adrien," she buried her head into his neck, "this is a full on job. I get to design clothes in Milan for a junior line. This is a once in a lifetime- no, a one in a million lifetime chance, Adrien. I'll get my name out there as a young designer. It's one step closer to achieving my dream. Heck, this was my dream a year ago."

He pulled her into a full hug so his arms wrapped around her, making her body flush with his. He places his chin on top of her head, drawing in the scent of her shampoo. "You don't speak Italian. Or English. How are you going to manage? Will you be okay?"

Marinette couldn't help but let out a small laugh, though she could feel the sting of tears threatening to fall. "You worry too much. I'll be just fine. There's such thing as google translate until I get the hang of things."

"I know." Adrien let out a sigh, the tears threatening to fall from his eyes as well. "You're just the only thing in my life that matters anymore." They had only been together for a year, and here she was, leaving to live in another country for another year. "What if you find some hot Italian guy who asks you on a date and tries to take you away?"

She couldn't help but think how ridiculous Adrien was being, but she understood his irrational fears. She had them too. "Then I'll tell him I have a hot Frenchman waiting for me back home. Then I'll face time you," her face began to feel warm and the tears were starting to leak out, "and I'll remind you how much I love you because I'm going- going to miss you so much." She started crying onto his shirt, her mascara dripping onto the fabric. "I wish you could come to Italy with me." They both understood that he couldn't. Adrien was in the process of moving out of his dad's place, and with the money he inherited from his mother, he was almost done closing on a house. It was impossible for him to go away from the city, even for a year.

"I wish that I could too, Bugaboo." They gave each other a quick peck on the lips that tasted like tears then walked into the check-in counter, checking in for Marinette's flight. Adrien carried her suitcase for her and got it checked with the other baggage, sending it to be loaded onto the plane.

"You'll take care of Tikki while I'm gone, right?"

He nodded. "Of course."

"And you wont try to cook anything? If you want a home cooked meal then-"

"Call Alya. She's not going to burn the house down. She wont be inconvenienced because she likes to cook anyway," he said, repeating the mantra Marinette had been saying since they started planning her leaving.

"Friday nights will be our game nights, right? We'll get online and play video games together?"

He nodded. "Of course. I will get online every Friday just to get my butt handed to me in Splatoon."

"And after I'll get mine handed to me in Pokemon." Marinette looked at the line for security. "I should get going, shouldn't I?"

"Become the best designer in the world, okay Marinette? I know you can do it."

"Call me if anything happens between you and your father. You'll be okay." She took a deep breath and licked her lips. "I'll see you in a year."

"In a year."

She started to walk away, but Adrien couldn't stop himself. He grabbed her arm and yanked her back to him, crushing his lips against hers. They didn't part for what felt like hours, though in reality it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. They savored their last few moments together for the year, letting their last moments together be filled with as much bittersweet joy they could muster. Neither of them wanted their last memory of the other to be sad. They both wanted the other to know how happy they made them. "I love you," Marinette said when they parted.

"I love you, too," he replied, and he watched her as she disappeared past security.

That night he went to Marinette's apartment to pick up Tikki, but he couldn't help but linger in the home. It smelled like vanilla, coconut and cinnamon. Everything was put away, organized in a way only Marinette could decipher. He looked at the bundles of fabric that sat a small table in the corner. Most were varying shades of pink, but recently she had added blue to the mix, deciding his favorite color was worthy to join hers. He ran his fingers over the soft fabrics, picturing Marinette sitting at the couch, using her sewing machine at the coffee table while the two of them watched a movie. He was going to miss her.

He walked into her bedroom and saw that her bed was neatly made, and hanging on her walls were pictures that the two of them had taken together. There were gaps in the wall where some pf the pictures had been taken down for her to take to Milan with her, but her presence still made itself known. That night Adrien decided that this was where he wanted to be. He crawled under her covers and let the smell of her laundry detergent wash over him. He was going to miss her, but he knew that it was only a matter of time until she came back. Only three hundred and sixty-five days to go.

* * *

 _This is a baby chapter, sorry, but I really couldn't figure out how to lengthen it in a way that was in the style of this story. This story, if y'all haven't figure out, is just a bunch of snapshots at certain times in their relationship. It's not nearly as in depth into their relationship as some of my other stories, but I think it is still fun to write. This chapter was short, but kind of necessary for the next chapter._

 _Going to do a self plug here: if any of y'all have seen the anime Fairy Tail and are even remotely interested in a zombie romance AU y'all should check out my story "For She Had Eyes and Chose Me." I'm working on it side by side with this story and it's my first attempt at zombies... ever, so I'm having fun!_

 _Well that's all. Let me know what y'all think and I'll see y'all soon!_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

 _"Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast," -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

It was finally the day. A year later and Marinette was finally returning home. Over the course of the year they only saw each other for one weekend, when Marinette came back up to Paris for Christmas. She spent the entirety of that weekend getting in as much time as she could with her parents, her friends, and, arguably, most importantly Adrien. She was excited to see him. The entire plane ride she had been jittery, and all plans of completing a design on the flight were abandoned. There was no way she was going to be able to concentrate on anything other than looking forward to seeing Adrien's smiling face.

Marinette pressed her forehead against the window, looking down at the ground below, seeing the usually bustling landscapes become nothing more than passive dots on the ground. It was hard to imagine that there were people she couldn't see from this height living their lives, walking from store to store, getting groceries or window shopping. There were people down there sitting in those office buildings, typing away at computers, entering numbers on spreadsheets and filing reports. Somewhere down there someone could be on the cusp of developing a cure for cancer. Being so much higher than it all, it was hard to imagine.

Somewhere down below Adrien was waiting for her to return, probably imagining something romantic that he could do to make her welcome all the more special. That's what he did on Christmas, when her plane landed. He had been waiting for her with a big poster that had "Welcome Back, Marinette," painted on with bright pink paint, Tikki standing at his side on leash, her entire butt wiggling with how hard her tail was wagging. When she reached him she was greeted with a hug and a welcome back. He took her suitcase from her and carried for her while they travelled back to her home. He had given her his scarf and the two of them went to her parent's house for Marinette's favorite desserts, fresh baked, of course. They then spent the Christmas holiday scarcely leaving each other's side, which brought on more than mild teasing on her parents part. At one point her mother, jokingly, asked Adrien when he would pop the question. She happened to ask when he was taking a drink of water, which he subsequently choked on. Marinette could feel herself turning bright red and her mother's joking.

She had to return eventually, though. Milan was waiting for her. She didn't realize she would be counting down the days until she would return home once again. Milan was wonderful, like a dream, but the nicest of dreams still felt empty without Adrien at her side. She practically jumped out of her seat when the light for the seatbelt sign came on. "We are beginning our decent into Paris and will arrive in twenty minutes. Thank you for riding with us and we hope you had a wonderful trip." Twenty more minutes, at least. The last twenty minutes stretched on like an eternity. She felt like she was going to cry when the plane finally landed, but they had to sit and wait once more, waiting for the plane to unload. Her ticket had her seated in the back on the plane, so she had another whole eternity to wait, with her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, while she watched the other passengers, slowly and laboriously, get their carry-on's out of the overhead bins, before shuffling out of the plane, taking their sweet time, reminding Marinette of zombies in video games- the nonthreatening ones that a slow walk could avoid. There was no way the other passengers could have known that the love of her life was waiting just beyond those doors, waiting for her, somewhere down in the lobby.

When she finally made her escape, sweet relief filled her. She could have run down the hallways, screaming for Adrien, but reality came crashing back down. She had to go claim her baggage. She went to stand by the luggage claim, only to find that the coveted spots by the spot where the luggage came out were all taken. She pushed her way past some people nearby, waiting for her own luggage to appear, and waited, and waited. Nothing was happening. She pulled out her phone, noticing she had several texts from Adrien. He had come to pick her up. She smiled and texted him back, saying she couldn't wait to see him, and that she was waiting for her luggage and would have to go through customs. They were so close, yet still so far away. She wanted to bang her head against a wall. She wanted to run around the airport, screaming. She wanted to do something about this restlessness that had consumed her.

Finally, with the blaring sound of the siren, the luggage was announced to be coming. She watched for her pink suitcases to come down the chute. She had to collect three of them, all of the things she packed for her year in Milan. The first two came out fairly quickly. The third caused her more problems. She waited for close to fifteen minutes before it was sighted coming down. She grabbed it as fast as she could, loaded it onto her luggage cart, and went on her way, hoping to breeze her way through customs, wanting to let out a scream on anguish when she saw the line was already wrapping around the lobby. From the amount of people talking in English she deducted a flight had just come in from America, and those passengers were mixed in with the people from her own flight. This was the longest wait of her life.

Adrien stood in the lobby, watching the door to the elevator closely, knowing that Marinette would come down the elevator with the amount of luggage she held. He had arrived an hour before Marinette's plane landed. He couldn't wait around his apartment and pace anymore. He needed to get out and see her. He supposed she was just as frustrated as he was. Anytime the elevator doors opened, he stood at attention, only to slump back into his seat when she didn't emerge. The bouquet of irises and pink roses he was holding became seemingly sadder with each closing of the door. Eventually an older gentleman came and took the seat next to him, watching bemusedly as Adrien stood up and down with each opening.

"Waiting for someone?" The man asked as Adrien slumped back into his chair dejectedly for the tenth time in the past ten minutes.

"Yeah," he glanced at the bouquet of flowers, a small smile appearing on his face, "my girlfriend. We've been dating for two years, but she was in Milan for a year doing an internship. I really miss her."

"How did you two met?"

Adrien laughed at the memory. "Her dog tackled me. Sweetest, most well behaved dog ever broke loose from my girlfriend and tackled me."

The old ma laughed. "Well, that's quite the story. This girl must be pretty special to cause you to be up in arms. You've been drilling a hole into those elevator doors with your eyes for the past hour."

Adrien rubbed the back of his head with the hand that wasn't holding the flower bouquet. "Oh, you noticed?"

"Lad, I don't think there's anyone in the vicinity who hasn't noticed. Those women over there have been talking about you for the past fifteen minutes, you know?" Adrien looked over his shoulder, and sure enough, three middle age women were giggling, looking over at him. They gave him an enthusiastic wave and thumbs up when he looked at them. He responded with a shy wave, turned back around, and buried his head in his hands. The old man patted Adrien on the back, laughing heartily. "Don't worry, lad! Love turns us all into fools." The doors of the elevator opened again, and Adrien stood at attention out of habit, only to slump back down when Marinette wasn't one of the people slowly leaving the doors.

"Adrien!" He heard his name come from above, and sure enough, leaning over the balcony by the elevator was Marinette, waving at him rapidly. He run to the elevator and jumped into it, just as the door were closing. He vaguely heard the old man laughing and the women cheering as he ran on, but he didn't care. He could look like the biggest idiot in the world and it wouldn't matter. All that mattered was having Marinette in his arms once again.

The doors couldn't open fast enough. He ran out and pulled Marinette into a bone crushing hug, before passionately kissing her. A small applause could be heard, the women watching the scene from down below. Did they not have anything better to do? They were probably waiting on some other people as well. It didn't matter. Marinette was where she belonged, right in his arms. They separated from their kiss, both looking winded and excited, like school children. "Don't ever leave me again," Adrien said, looking into her eyes.

"Never again."

"Oh!" He forgot he was still holding the flower bouquet, and he presented it to her, realizing it looked a bit worse for wear. "I got these for you. I swear they were beautiful when I got them."

Marinette laughed. "They're perfect." They were. They were perfect because they came from the love of her life. Being in love was wonderful.

* * *

 _I could say something clever, like I made y'all wait because Adrien and Marinette had to wait to see one another again, but really I just lost my notes for this story. I found them, so yay! Sorry for the wait, y'all. I really am sorry. Let me know what y'all think, though. Stuff should be happening soon, wink wink, nudge nudge. In chapters eight and ten in particular, so stay tuned. It's only going to be eleven chapters._

 _Another note! As of right now I am still planning on doing another Halloween countdown, so I'm spending this month preparing. I went through some plot ideas and have one that I think will have scares and romance. I'll release more information on that in the coming weeks, so be on the lookout! If you had no idea I do holiday countdowns (for Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day in particular) you should go check those out. Last year's Halloween story was called Sepulchral. Check it out if you are at all interested!_

 _With that, I'll see y'all soon! (I won't keep y'all waiting nearly as long this time, I promise! I felt so bad about that!)_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 _"Don't waste your love on someone who doesn't value it," -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

It was two weeks since Marinette made her triumphant return to Paris. France wasn't far away from Italy but not having the ability to return home whenever she wanted was torture. Not being able to speak Italian when she arrived made it worse. Of course, now she could get by decently because she had no other choice when but to do so when living there. Learning a second language had its perks, however, like saying something in Italian just to make Adrien curious as to what she said and refusing to tell him. He, of course, would retaliate and say something in Chinese and tickle her until he got her to admit what she said. The two of them had possibly too much fun together.

The two of them were seldom seen apart in those two weeks, only separating to hang out with their own best friends, Alya and Nino, to have some girl time and guy time. When that happened all the other did was talk about their beloved and texted them the whole time, much to the annoyance and mild amusement of their friends. It was during this exasperated time when Nino came up with an outburst so obvious it almost seemed ridiculous that the two of them hadn't done it yet.

"Why don't the two of you just move in together! Then you can see her all the time and I won't be fighting for my bro's attention when your with me!" Once Nino said that he could see Adrien freeze. It was almost as if the wheels turning in his head became visible and Nino had to refrain from facepalming. Had they seriously not thought of this?

The next thing Nino knew he was swept up into the air in a crushing-all-of-the-oxygen-out-of-his-lungs bear hug. "Nino, you are a genius!"

"Dude, it wouldn't even be hard. You have your own house now. Marinette's clothes already take up their own closet. Tikki stays with you and Plagg more often than not."

Adrien sighed and released Nino from the hug. "Yeah. Maybe I'm just a bit too close to her to see something so obvious. It's not like I haven't been thinking about our future or anything."

This piqued Nino's interest. "What exactly are you saying?"

Adrien shrugged and pulled a black velvet box out of his pocket and tossed it to Nino. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was inside but Nino thought that he should investigate anyway. He opened the box and felt his jaw almost drop to the ground. "Damn, dude. That's a hell of a rock."

Adrien shrugged again. He had taken great care in picking out the ring. It did have a big diamond in the middle of it, but he didn't want to be too flashy. He knew Marinette liked classy items that would go with everything. There were a few diamonds studded along the rose-gold metal that made up the ring. The middle reminded him vaguely of a rose.

Upon inspecting the ring Nino found an inscription on the inside, carefully scripted and engraved with beautiful cursive lettering, reading "To you I give myself, for I am yours."

"Didn't know you were a poet. That's actually really nice," Nino said, placing the ring back into the box.

"I'm not a poet. Just obsessed with Shakespeare."

Nino laughed and rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me that's from Romeo and Juliet!"

Adrien shook his head, seemingly embarrassed. "It's from As You Like It. It was the only quote I could find that sounded nice that fit on the inside." This just made Nino laugh even harder.

"So, when are you going to propose?"

Adrien shrugged. "Not sure. I got the ring right after she got back from Italy, so I think I'm just waiting for the right moment. I don't know when that will be though. Is there such a thing as a right moment?"

"Eh, maybe. Maybe not. If you're going to ask her to move in with you you could just propose then, but you could propose coming back from taking out the trash and she would say yes. That girl is crazy about you."

"I'm crazy about her too."

"Yeah," Nino pictured his own girlfriend in his mind, thinking that it was lucky that both he and Adrien had such fantastic women. "I know you are," he said, picturing Alya as he said it. He might not be as romantic as his friend, but he was just as crazy about Alya as Adrien was about Marinette. "Listen, I'll help you out if you need it. Give me a time and a place and I'll be there. You'll give Marinette the best proposal you can. Just return the favor for me when the time comes, alright?"

Adrien gave Nino a quizzical look. "Are you thinking of marrying Alya?"

"In a couple of years maybe. We're both too busy with work to think about it. We decided if the timing isn't right by three years from now we'll just say screw it and have a quick and simple wedding. It's more our style anyway."

"Yeah, sounds like it."

"So you just going to ask Marinette to move in with you for now?"

Adrien nodded. "Yeah. I'll have to hide the ring somewhere. Maybe at the top of my closet. There's a shelf up there that she can't reach and she has no reason to need anything from up there."

"Good." Adrien's phone went off, a text message coming through. A dopey grin crossed Adrien's face and Nino could tell exactly who it was. "Go. Get out of here. Ask Marientte to live with you and live happily ever after, or whatever you're after, Agreste. We'll hang out when you're not pining over her like a lost puppy, alright?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go! All this mushy love crap we're talking about is making me nauseous anyway. My sweet tooth isn't half of what yours is."

Adrien rolled his shoulders back and stood up, extending a hand to Nino and bringing him in for another crushing bear hug. "Thanks man. I really appreciate it."

Nino returned the hug after only a brief moment of hesitation, out of surprise more than anything else. "Yeah, anytime. Just save some happiness for the rest of us."

"Will do."

Adrien left Nino's apartment with a skip in his step, walking to Alya's place where Marinette was camped out, talking about whatever girls talked about. Know the two of them they probably just finished watching some gory horror movie that Adrien wouldn't be able to stomach. They had a tendency to do that stuff when he wasn't around. They were probably straightening up the mess in Alya's apartment since Marienette sent him a text saying that they finished their movie. He reached Alya's place and knocked on the door twice before letting himself in.

Marinette and Alya were laughing, chatting away as they put brightly colored patchwork quilts into a closet in the hallway and fluffed orange and white pillows that sat on the couch. Trixx sat quietly in her dog bed observing the two girls cleaning, standing to attention when she caught sight of Adrien. "Hey, Adrien!" Alya said, peeking over the top of the blanket pile. "Go ahead and head out Mari. I can finish up everything else by myself."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! You two go and do whatever cute things you do!"

Marinette finished fluffing the pillows. "Alright. Well, call me if you need anything."

"Will do! Now go have fun!"

Adrien extended a hand to Marinette and they laced their fingers together, leaving the apartment. "Why don't we get you home?" Adrien asked.

Marinette nodded, a little disappointed that the two of them weren't going to be hanging out, but decided she would offer him dinner and make him stay so they could be together longer. "Alright, sounds like a plan."

She was confused when they started walking away from her home. They walked down streets that she was more than familiar with, but weren't the ones she grew up on. "Where are we going?" She asked, noticing they were heading closer and closer to Adrien's house.

"You'll see."

She wasn't surprised at all when they stopped in front of his place, but she was confused. "I thought you said you were taking me home?"

She noticed a tint of red dusting his cheeks, and him raising his hand to the back of his neck, a telltale sign that he was nervous. The hand that was holding hers was slightly damp with sweat and warmer than usual. "Well," he said, letting out a nervous chuckle, "I was kinda hoping this could be your new home?"

She didn't answer with words. Instead she threw herself on top of him, throwing him down onto the ground and kissing him and laughing. Once Adrien realized this was Marinette saying yes he started laughing too, only calming down when she rolled off of him to the side. He got on top of her, placing his knees on either side of her and bent down to kiss her. They were happy. Perfection stretched out before them. Adrien knew that this was the future they both desperately needed.

* * *

 _This might have been my favorite chapter to write so far, but I also love anything where I get to be sappy and romantic and I love Nino and bromances so getting to include all three was fun. I hope everyone is having a good beginning of the school year! Other college students if you need to cry just do it. You'll make it through. Prayers for me by the way. I've got an algebra test tomorrow that I'm hoping to not fail! Plotting for my Halloween story is well underway. I'm thinking there will be two prologues, one released on the first and another released on the thirteenth (of October). How does that sound?_

 _Well, let me know what y'all thought of the chapter. I'll see y'all soon! We're nearing the end folks!_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 _"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite," -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

Marinette woke up to an empty bed that Wednesday morning, which was fine. Adrien didn't have to stay in bed if he didn't want to. It was just a bit strange as Wednesdays were the days he got to sleep in so he made sure to relish sleeping in, normally. Since they didn't get to greet each other when leaving the house she always made sure to slip in and give him a good morning kiss on the cheek when she left, but he wasn't there.

Adrien was still asleep when she woke up, as she had to pry herself out of his arms, but he must have left some point while she was getting ready for the day. Perhaps he left when she was in the shower? That wouldn't have made any sense though. He would have peeked in and made sure she knew that he was leaving if that were the case.

Marinette realized she had a bad habit of letting her imagination get the best of her. It wasn't likely a group of pirates broke into the house and kidnapped her beloved right out of bed while he was asleep, taking him to a ship on the Seine, tying him up and sailing away towards the ocean where they would take him and kill him before chopping him up into shark food and feeding to the hungry great white sharks that were waiting beneath the surface of the water in the darkest parts of the ocean. She realized that was probably the last thing to have happened to him, but she couldn't stop herself from imagining it. She had to reassure herself. Adrien probably went down to a bakery to find something for breakfast and didn't think he would be gone that long.

What was that lying on his pillow? An envelope, cream colored with careful golden colored calligraphy that very obviously was not written by Adrien sat on his pillow, her name carefully written on the front. She flipped the envelope open and pulled out the letter, which was typed on vintage style cream colored card stock. What was going on?

Marinette,

Don't go into work today. You have the day off. I called your boss and let them know what's going on. Come to the Arc de Triomphe and wear your best dress. Take your time. There's some pastries from your parent's bakery on the counter. Eat a nice breakfast and I'll see you soon.

-Adrien

She found herself letting out a dreamy sigh. It was just like him to plan something spontaneous and romantic. This was much more reasonable than her kidnapped by pirates theory, thank goodness for that. The letter said take her time, but she found herself rushing. What could Adrien possibly want at the Arc de Triomphe? He wasn't planning on visiting all the touristy places in Paris, was he? Not that she minded, it was just an interesting thought.

In the kitchen Marinette saw a plate with six of her favorite macarons lined up: salted caramel, strawberries and cream, almond, chestnut, lemon, and hazelnut. Marinette took one at random off the plate- the strawberries and cream, and savored the taste of her father's macaron recipe, before putting the rest of the cookies in a bag and carefully placing them in her purse. She was not opposed to dessert for breakfast.

She went to her closet and picked out a dress she had made in Milan, casual looking but still put together. The dress was light pink, knee length, with long sleeves and a delicate white floral pattern on the fabric. She had slaved over this dress on her time off just so she could wear it when she was out with Adrien. If there was a perfect time to wear it, this was it. She quickly put on a bit of light makeup and brushed out her hair, letting the dark strands fall gracefully around her shoulders, before grabbing her bag and heading to the Arc de Triomphe.

Upon arriving she found herself looking around the crowds of tourists, trying to find a familiar blonde haired man, only to instead find a familiar face with a slouch and a baseball cap positioned on his head. "Nino!" Marinette called out, getting his attention. Nino smiled and waltz over to Marinette confidently, a gentle smile resting on his face.

"You look beautiful, Mari!" He said, catching her off guard. Nino wasn't one to give out compliments like this. He leaned in and gave her a hug, wrapping her arms around her shoulders, comforting her like a brother.

"Um, thanks!" She felt a bit bashful about being called beautiful. She returned the hug and broke free. "Have you seen Adrien?"

There was a devilish glint coming from behind Nino's glasses as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope almost identical to the one from this morning. "He told me to give this to you."

Marinette took the letter and opened it, a bit confused as to what was going on. Adrien was probably attempting some big production. She had no idea what for. Why would he go to the trouble of producing a random romantic spectacle?

Marinette,

Looks like you made it to the Arc de Triomphe! I like this place a lot. It reminds me that I triumphed in stealing your heart, my proudest accomplishment to date. Honestly, I don't think anything will even triumph over that accomplishment.

Your next stop is the Eiffel Tower. You wont be alone on the metro though. Enjoy your new friend and I'll see your shortly.

-Adrien

"New friend?"

"Oh!" Nino turned around and went to his backpack and pulled out a small stuffed bear with incredibly soft apricot colored fur. On it's foot the words "Je suis fou de toi," I am crazy about you. She hugged the bear close to her chest and smiled.

"Thank you, Nino. Whatever Adrien has planned, he's crazy."

He nodded. "Oh, I know. Now go to the the tower. You'll see him soon!"

Marinette did as she was told, clutching the bear, and boarded the metro. She hadn't seen Adrien yet but she already felt like she was walking on air. If this was a cheesy romantic musical then there would be a big, show stopping number on the metro, complete with a tap dance. That's how she felt right now. What was Adrien feeling, knowing where all of this led? Why was he sending her around Paris to find him? She would find out once she reached the Eiffel Tower.

Except she didn't find out upon reaching the tower. Waiting there for her was Alya, sitting on a bench in view of the tower, laptop open, probably writing some article for the magazine she worked for. Marinette took a seat next to her, plopping down, and dramatically placing the bear on her own lap. "So, I'm guessing Adrien sent you here too?"

Alya hardly spared a glance to look up, concentrating on whatever was on the screen. "Yup!" She presented another envelope to Marinette who hesitated to open it, enraptured by what was on the laptop's screen.

"Why are you looking up wedding dresses? Are you and Nino thinking about getting married sooner than you guys thought?"

Alya slammed the laptop shut. "No! I mean, just read the dang letter, girl.

Marinette rolled her eyes and took the letter, opening it.

Bugaboo,

You light up my world. Get it? Because the Eiffel Tower lights up? I mean, it's daytime right now so the tower isn't on. Maybe I should come up with a better analogy.

You make me want to reach for the stars because you shine brighter than any star I've seen. Pretty, but it doesn't change the fact that it's daytime and I can't think of anything romantic to say about clouds.

Maybe to make up for my lack of good pickup lines you'll accept these flowers and meet me at the ice cream cart we went to after we first met?

-Adrien

She put down the letter and sure enough Alya was holing a bouquet of small pink roses and little purple flowers. "Go get him, girl," was all she had to say.

"What do I have to get?" This was getting more and more confusing. "He's mine, isn't he?"

Alya couldn't resist it anymore and threw her arms around her best friend, crushing her in her arms. "Yeah, but don't forget about me, okay?"

"Alya, I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You'll see soon enough, girl. Now get going. I promise Adrien is at the next place."

Marinette licked her lips and stood up, taking the flowers and teddy bear, but reaching into her purse and pulling out the bag of macarons, passing the lemon one to Alya. The poor girl looked like she was about to cry and Marinette had no idea why.

The problem with the ice cream cart they met at was it was never at the same place twice. She would have to search social media to find where ti was at. She looked up the hashtag and looked at the sights in the background, picking up a location. "No way," she muttered, because that wasn't possible. The cart had been to that place before.

Abandoning all dignity Marinette ran. She ran across the streets of Paris, making her way past bystanders -both startled Parisians and enthralled tourists- making her way down the Seine. Time didn't matter when she was running to him. She was running close to fifteen minutes, but those fifteen minutes felt like mere seconds. Their hearts were that close to one another. This was a completely different feeling than when they were waiting for each other when she returned from Milan. This felt like the world existed just for them, not to keep them apart.

She arrived at the ice cream stand, smiling, seeing Adrien there, dressed up looking like the model that he used to be, in a button down baby pink shirt and a pair of khaki trousers. He was smiling at her like she was the only thing that he could see, and she very well might have been. He was the only thing she saw.

"Marinette," he said, taking a step towards her, "I asked the ice cream man to come back to the place where we got ice cream the first time together."

She nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. Why?"

Her heart stopped for a brief moment as she saw Adrien pull away from her and fall down on one knee, pulling a little box out of his pocket. "To you I give myself, for I am yours. Marry me, Marinette?"

Of course she said yes.

* * *

 _Okay, this was fun to write so I hope y'all enjoyed it. Fun fact, there is a giant easter egg in this story for my Halloween story. I'm so happy with how this turned out, of my goodness! I hope y'all enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed imagining it. Let me know what y'all think!_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

 _"These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder Which, as they kiss, consume," -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet_

There are beautiful things in the world, but there are also ugly things. This was something both Adrien and Marinette could agree on wholeheartedly. Beautiful things included waking up next to their beloved, wiping away sleep from their eyes, in the most innocent and vulnerable state before thoughts started to run through their head, the first thing to be thought is "I love you." Beautiful things also included rainy nights, tucked away on the couch, snuggled up together under a fluffy blanket, watching children's movies in each other's arms while drinking amaretto spiked hot chocolate and giggling together.

Despite how beautiful things were though, the ugly seemed to take control at times, like when Adrien found himself sick, unable to get out of bed, eyes watery, nose sniffly, a fever wracking his body.

Of course, there was something nice about being sick. Being doted on by Marinette was pleasant enough. She made him soup and bread and brought it to him and massaged him where he was sore. She lit scented candles in the room with relaxing fragrances and constantly brought him heating pads and ice packs to help him control his temperature. She let him have control of the television while she went into the kitchen. This couldn't last forever, and while he loved being spoiled, he couldn't wait to spoil Marinette as well.

"Hey, Adrien," she said, peeking her head into the room, "are you feeling any better?"

Adrien rolled his shoulders back and sat up. "Yeah, a bit." He let out a cough that seemed to wracks entire body.

Marinette was over in a moment with a cup of hot tea with lemon and honey. "Drink this." She placed her hand to the top of his forehead and sighed before she went to the bedside and pulled out the thermometer, taking his temperature. "Well, you're fever has broken at least. Still, take it easy."

"I feel like a little kid when you do this, you know?" He didn't think feeling like a little kid was totally a bad thing.

"You act like a little kid sometimes. It's a bit funny, seeing how helpless you are. You're usually so energetic." Adrien found himself chuckling. "I like taking care of you, though."

"You're going to make a great mom one day." Adrien was smiling, imagining the two of them with a pair of children running around, a blonde one with bright blue eyes and a dark haired one with his green eyes. The both had freckles in his imagination, and would turn bright red when embarrassed, like she was right now.

"I- I think you need some water. I'll get you a glass. Sip your tea." Marinette left the room, blushing madly, but he didn't miss the dreamy smile that worked itself onto her face. She came back a few moments later. He didn't sip his tea. He was too preoccupied watching the door, waiting for Marinette's return. She came back with the glass in her hand and placed it on the nightstand. "I'm going to run to the store real quick. We're out of teabags and I could do with a bit more flour and stock for dinner. I'll be back before too long." She kissed Adrien on the forehead. "Call me if you need anything."

"Will do," he said, settling in to the blankets. "Hey Marinette," he said as she was leaving.

"Yeah?"

"I can't wait to marry you."

She smiled. "I can't wait to marry you either."

The smile didn't leave her face as she grabbed her purse and left their home. It wasn't a far walk to the market. She took her time walking, enjoying the cool air that was starting to blow in. Perhaps she should have grabbed a jacket, but she didn't want to turn back. The fresh air was soothing. The autumn leaves were beginning to change color and fall to the ground, and a nice breeze played with her hair, tangling the strands together. She brushed out the strands with her fingers and continued walking down the sidewalk.

"I've missed days like these," she said. "We haven't picked a date yet. Maybe an autumn wedding would be nice." She looked around at the atmosphere and frowned a bit. "That would mean having to wait a year to get married, though. I guess it really doesn't matter what time of year it is, as long as we're together. There are beautiful things about every season."

Marinette turned the corner of their sleepy road and came upon the commercial district where business upon business fell onto of one another. Clothing stores, doctor's offices, dentists, workout studios, bakeries, all in close proximity to one another. In the center of it all was the supermarket. She made her way to the building, only to find herself distracted.

A man stood, leaned against one of the buildings, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. He was greasy in appearance, and his eyes were dilated to an incredible size. She didn't mean to stare at him. She was caught between wanting to help him and wanting to avoid him at all costs.

He must have noticed her staring because he started to make his way toward her. Marinette suddenly started to feel slightly on edge. There was no one else around them, as it was the middle of the day when everyone else found themselves at work. The supermarket's modest parking lot was hidden from the main street, and no other pedestrians found themselves walking by.

"Hey, missy," the man said as he closed in, "do you have any cash on you?"

She shook her head, truthfully. If she had then she would have given it to him just to avoid trouble. Marinette liked to think she could handle herself in a situation, and truthfully, a part of her could, but looking into this man's eyes and disheveled appearance made her frightened. "Sorry, I don't."

"Well," he took a step closer to her and took a look at her ring, "what about that thing there? Awfully pretty and big, isn't it? Could sell for a high price."

She gathered her nerves and forced herself to remain calm. "I'm sorry sir, but I don't like what you are saying. If you'll excuse me, I have errands to run. My fiancé is waiting for me to get back home soon."

"He isn't with you?" A smile began to grown on his hollowed face and she realized her mistake.

"Stay away from me."

"Why?" He placed an arm on her shoulder and she reacted, kicking her leg out, and getting him straight in the groin. He sunk to ground with a loud groan, releasing Marinette. She started to turn away, only to hear a click from behind her. "You'll regret that."

She turned back around, only to see a gun looking at her. A loud bang reverberated off of the walls and Marinette felt pressure hit her. She couldn't even process the pain, just falling to the ground and everything around her going dark.

The sound of sirens could be heard rushing past the house, but Adrien paid them no mind. Thirty minutes later, when he received a phone call from an unknown number, he wished he had.

"Is this Adrien Agreste?"

The phone call came out of nowhere and Adrien was half tempted to let it go to voicemail, but there was something in his gut telling him to answer that call. "Yes?"

"Is your fiancé Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" The person on the other end had his full attention.

"Yes." The pit of his stomach started to fill with dread. The tone of voice on the phone was far too serious to be a normal phone call.

"Your fiancé was shot and is in the hospital, in a coma. Please come down as soon as you can."

Adrien was out the door before the man could finish his sentence.

* * *

 _A part of me is hoping that y'all thought this would be pure fluff. Well, an event happened. Not just fluff. Let me know what y'all think! The wait shouldn't be too long. This story has two more chapters to go, and I'm hoping to have it completely up before the first of October! Let me know what y'all think!_


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